Name: Quick and Easy Tagliatelle
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 500 grams tagliatelle (fresh or dried - adjust cooking time accordingly); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 onion; 400 grams peas (frozen); 300 ml creme fraiche; 200 grams feta; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 10 grams parsley

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After a busy weekend or a full day at work, this is the easy tagliatelle recipe I always reach for. It’s been one of my go-to pasta recipes for over a decade when I want to make something very quick and easy but still delicious and satisfying.

This combination of sweet popping peas with salty feta is a match made in heaven, and is ready in 10 minutes. What’s not to like? It’s a cheesy pasta dish you’ll make again and again.

Why You’ll Love It

Ready in 10 minutes – genuinely.
Minimal ingredients – nothing fancy, all easy to find.
Creamy but light – crème fraîche gives the texture without heaviness.
Great flavour balance – salty feta, sweet peas, a touch of lemon.
Fuss-free – everything happens while the pasta cooks.

Bowl of tagliatelle with peas and feta in a creamy sauce

The Ingredients

Onion This is optional, but it does add a gorgeous level of flavour. You could switch it up for shallots or spring onions.
Peas I love frozen peas. They’re so quick to cook and add an immediate hit of vitamin C and other good stuff. You could switch for spinach, if you like.
Pasta Water This is used to loosen the sauce and cool the pan before adding the creme fraiche so that it doesn’t split.
Creme fraiche Creme fraiche adds a lovely tartness to a dish, and it works really well here with the sweet peas and salty feta. You could switch with single cream for a – well, creamier version.
Feta Use the good stuff, and use plenty of it!
Lemon juice Optional, but adds a great bit of balance to the rich feta.
Parsley Because every recipe is better with a handful of fresh herbs! You could use basil or mint, too.

How to Make It

Step 1 – Cook the pasta
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the tagliatelle and cook until al dente usually about 5 minutes for fresh tagliatelle and 8–10 minutes for dried. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water before you drain it.

Cook tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water

Step 2 – Build the sauce
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook soften for a couple of minutes.

Soften the onion in olive oil for a minute or two

Step 3 – Add the peas and crème fraîche
Add a splash of the pasta water then stir in the creme fraiche and peas. Stir until it comes together into a light, glossy sauce.

Step 4 – Combine everything
Add the drained pasta straight into the pan. Toss to coat, adding another splash of cooking water if it looks a bit thick. Add the feta and stir well.

Step 5 – Finish with parsley and lemon
Add the chopped parsley, squeeze over the lemon juice, and season with black pepper. Toss gently so the feta softens slightly and everything looks creamy.

Cooking this Easy Tagliatelle Recipe

When I say this is easy, I mean easy. You’ll love this! Here are my tips:

Don’t add salt to the sauce until after you’ve added the feta. You can taste it then, but the likelihood is you’ll only need to add black pepper because the feta is salty.
Don’t cook the peas for too long – they literally only need 30 seconds in the sauce. Frozen peas are best when they’re cooked for a really short period of time and keep their bright green colour.
You could use dried tagliatelle if you like, it’ll just take longer to cook.